Wednesday NBA DFS: Injuries and Implications (2/14)

The Heat are playing on the second half of back to back set tonight, so it’s possible that Dwayne Wade is limited or rested on Wednesday heading into the All-Star break.

Indiana @ Brooklyn

Darren Collison will be on the shelf until late-February which will continue to give a significant bump in minutes to Corey Joseph and Joe Young. As a whole, Joseph has under performed as a starter this season but he has seen a 1.2% increase in usage rate in the 1,047.3 minutes he’s played without Darren Collison on the court. It’s important to highlight this matchup, as the Pacers will be traveling to Brooklyn to face a Nets team that ranks sixth in pace this season.

Washington @ New York

There is a lot of uncertainty for the Wizards heading into Wednesday’s match against the Knicks. Tim Frazier has been ruled out after undergoing surgery and Tomas Satoransky’s status is uncertain after suffering a concussion late in Saturday’s game.

If Satoransky is ruled out, the Wizards would extremely thin in the backcourt. After Frazier went down with an injury on Saturday, Jodie Meeks played 18 minutes and responded with 16.8 FanDuel points. Meeks has a strong chance to play 20+ minutes in this matchup. Here is the Wizards usage so far this season if we take their questionable players off the floor:

The Knicks will continue to march on without Kristaps Porzingis, which will continue to mean extended run and high usage for Michael Beasley for the remainder of the season.

Toronto at Chicago

After missing the past 11 games with a concussion, Kris Dunn is listed as a game time decision for Wednesday night’s contest. It would be surprising to see Dunn return for one game before the All-Star break, but it’s hard to rule out a bad decision by the Bulls. In the event that he plays, Jerian Grant will return to fantasy irrelevance and Dunn’s running mate Zach Lavine could see a slight hit in value as well.

Sacramento @ Houston

The Kings are playing in the second half of a back to back set on Wednesday night, so it’s likely that Vince Carter and Garrett Temple could see limited minutes. It will also be interesting to see how Coach Joerger handles Zach Randolph’s minutes, as Skal Labissiere will continue to sit out through the All-Star break. In the event that Randolph’s minutes are limited, JaKarr Sampson would pick up some additional run with the second unit.

The Rockets will also be playing their second game in as many nights, so they will also be an interesting team to watch heading into this game against a terrible Kings team. The Vegas line for Wednesday’s game is set at a massive 15 points and it wouldn’t be surprising to see a player like Chris Paul rest or see limited minutes.

Oklahoma City @ Memphis

The Thunder are playing in the second half of a back to back set against the Grizzlies on Wednesday night. Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony returned to action on Tuesday, so unless there is word that someone on the Thunder is resting, it is unlikely that much value will open up for this team.

JaMychal Green is questionable for this game with an illness on the Grizzlies side of the ball. If Green is unable to suit up, Jarell Martin will be the biggest beneficiary in his absence. Martin would be locked into a 25-30 minute role and averages 0.68 FanDuel points per minute without Green on the floor. Wayne Selden has also been ruled out for another game with a knee injury. Both Mario Chalmers and Ben McLemore played over 28 minutes in Selden’s absence on Sunday.

Phoenix @ Utah

The Suns have a few question marks heading into Wednesday night’s matchup with the Jazz. Devin Booker is questionable, but closer to out, with a hip injury and Tyson Chandler is questionable with a neck injury he suffered on Monday night. Assuming that Booker is ruled out, there is a ton of usage to go around in the Suns’ offense. While the matchup against the red-hot Jazz is difficult, Alex Len will also be a top value option at $4,000 if Chandler sits.

On the Utah side of the ball, Ricky Rubio is questionable with a hip injury that forced him to miss the past two games. In his absence, Royce O’Neale started and averaged 35.5 minutes while putting up 21.9 FanDuel points per game.

Golden State @ Portland

Draymond Green is currently questionable with a sprained left index finger. In his absence on Monday night, Omri Casspi drew the start and posted 33 FanDuel points, while Kevin Looney posted 17.2 FanDuel points in 13 minutes off the bench. Casspi would be a viable tournament option again if Green is unable to suit up.

The Blazers have listed Jusuf Nurkic as questionable with lower back soreness, a right calf strain, and a right oblique strain. Having three injuries associated with a questionable tag tends to be a bad sign. Nurkic was limited to 13 scoreless minutes on Sunday night against the Jazz and Ed Davis posted 23.4 FanDuel points in 28 minutes of action. While Davis is a low usage player, he averages 0.93 FanDuel points with Nurkic off the floor.